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Partner organizations

Getting involved in Farm to Child 

Many partner organizations and agencies support the statewide Farm to Child efforts.

There are several ways for new organizations to get involved, activate the Colorado Farm to Child Roadmap, and become partners in this work. Organizations working on local procurement, nutrition education, agricultural education, gardening, hunger relief, food access, food banks, food rescues, economic security, housing security, and preventative health measures are well-positioned to support statewide efforts. Regardless of your focus, everyone interested in connecting children to healthy, locally produced, and culturally responsive food is welcome to complete the suggested actions.

Checklist for supporting Colorado Farm to Child Efforts

National Farm to School Network

Become a National Farm to School Network member by signing up for their monthly newsletter and receiving news, information on best practices, and other opportunities.

BIPOC-led organizations

Connect with BIPOC-led organizations around the state to support direct market connections for culturally responsive foods.

Collective purchasing

Partner with Early Childhood Councils, Colorado Food Program sponsors, and the Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) to help child care providers “team up” to collaboratively purchase food from local food hubs and food cooperatives. Find food hubs near you by using the USDA’s Food Hub Directory.

Family Resource Center Association

Introduce child care providers in your area to a local Family Resource Center (FRC) through the Family Resource Center Association to provide them options for cold storage and food preparation. 

Spanish and multilingual providers

Put Spanish-speaking and multilingual care providers in touch with Family Day Care Home Sponsors to receive assistance with the Colorado Food Program participation.

Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Quality Nutrition Workgroup

Join the Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Quality Nutrition Workgroup at the CO Department of Human Services (DHS) to help expand Farm to Child access to all child care providers.

Farm to Child Collaborative Workgroups

Join the Farm to Child Collaborative Workgroups on purchasing power, capacity building, or racial, economic, and linguistic justice to support the implementation of the Colorado Farm to Child Roadmap.

Colorado Proud

Encourage agricultural producers to register their business with Colorado Proud’s public directory to access resources on labeling, marketing, and selling local products with the Colorado Proud logo.

Community Supported Agriculture

Encourage producers to register as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) providers through the CDA’s CSA webpage and with the USDA’s CSA Directory.

Register with CDE

Encourage producers interested in Farm to School to register with CDE by sharing the Farm to Child Producer Survey, which will allow producers to connect with potential buyers, access unique resources from the state, and share contact information for school districts searching for local food.

Buying and selling local produce

Share step-by-step information on buying and selling local produce.

Nourish Colorado Local Procurement Colorado

Share webinars and trainings, including those offered through Nourish Colorado’s Local Procurement Colorado (LoProCO) initiative.

Farm-to-School Bid Process webinar

Share the Nourish Colorado (formerly LiveWell Colorado) Farm-to-School Bid Process webinar with agricultural producers so they can learn more about the bidding process that they may encounter when selling to schools or school districts.

Food purchasing options for care providers

Share cooperative purchasing group and food hub resources with care providers.

Become a qualified-exempt provider

Help families and providers become “qualified-exempt providers” using the Provider Operations Matrix. As a qualified provider, they can access child care assistance programs and other resources from state and local agencies.

Identify opportunity zones

Identifying “opportunity zones” or places where service and resource gaps exist by working with community partners and agencies is particularly important for qualified-exempt, unlicensed, and all immigrant providers, including legal permanent residents, those with visas, and undocumented persons. Examples of opportunity zones include:

  • specific funding or equipment needs
  • supply chain disruptions or gaps
  • staff capacity
  • regulatory assistance
Connect with community partners and agencies
Survey communities and producers
  • Survey communities to identify culturally relevant and nutritionally appropriate foods and share the results with the Farm to Child Collaborative and local organizations. Consider utilizing Food Bank of the Rockies’ program as a resource or template.
  • Survey Colorado producers to identify who is growing culturally relevant foods, such as by partnering with CO Proud or the CO Fruit and Growers Association.
Take the Success Story Survey

Tell us about the successes you’ve had by completing the Farm to Child Success Story Survey, and continue to reference this guide and explore the other roles you can play as a producer in Farm to Child efforts.

Grant Resources

Grants are a crucial part of funding the Farm to Child program in Colorado. Writing a grant application takes time, skill, and knowledge of individual grant requirements. Our resources will help you increase access to funding opportunities, improve grant writing skills, and learn how to apply data to showcase the need for your program.

Open Source Funding and Resource List

There are many ways to fund food systems projects that support Farm to Child creatively. The Funding and Resource List is a living document where anyone can add new grant information throughout the year.

Using Data in Grant Writing Resource

Using data n Colorado-specific data helps to illustrate the need, sustainability, and examples of past success when applying for grants. The Using Data in Grant Writing resource connects the 2023 data to other data resources that help to highlight the need and impact of Farm to Child in your community. It is divided into three sections:

  • Key data takeaways from the 2023 Colorado Farm to Child Statewide Survey
  • Examples of how to use the data as an Early Care and Education Site for grant writing purposes
  • Additional resources for grant writing
Make connections
  • Connect child care providers, producers, and support organizations with financial resources like those included in CDPHE’s Farm to Child Grant Opportunities list, and develop project ideas to utilize this funding.
  • Encourage licensed or formally licensed-exempt child care facilities to join the Colorado Food Program by completing the New Applicant Intake Form.
  • Partner with organizations in your area, such as those listed throughout these webpages, to provide funding, technical assistance, advisory support, or volunteer hours.
Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA)

The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that helps states source local foods from historically underserved producers and provide local foods to underserved communities. 

Funding advocacy

Advocate for funding to pilot, launch, and maintain a virtual Farm to School information hub and local food online purchasing platform, such as through the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service Grants and Loans.

Legislative advocacy

Advocate for legislation similar to D.C.’s Healthy Tot Program to provide a dedicated funding source for F2ECE reimbursements and programming.

Expanding local food program advocacy

Advocate for an expanded Local Food Program that would also make child care providers eligible for reimbursements for the purchase of Colorado-grown, raised, or processed products.

Federal and state policy advocacy

Advocate for federal and state policies that broaden access to SNAP and WIC by growing the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot program and by expanding food hubs’, small distributors’, and farmers’ abilities to become authorized SNAP and WIC vendors. Consider partnering with organizations.

Paperwork reduction advocacy

Identify opportunities to reduce paperwork requirements for Colorado Food Program enrollment and participation by using the Food Research & Action Center’s Paper Reduction Worksheet to evaluate current state policies and identify opportunities for reducing requirements and barriers.